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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. perch — the fish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. file — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. root — of a word
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fall — the season
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cue — a signal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. root — the cause
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. cue — for pool
  21. file — a document
  22. root — of a plant
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com